COLUMBUS, OH – In front of hundreds of cheering supporters at a Countdown
to Change rally in downtown Columbus, Mayor Mike Coleman today endorsed
Barack Obama for President, saying that “Obama brings the hope and ideas
that we need in America, and the right experience to bring about change
that matters from the White House to Ohio’s Statehouse and to the neighborhoods
of Columbus.” Coleman will serve as a National Co-Chair for the campaign’s
Mayors Leadership Council.

“America is facing serious challenges and we need a President who has
the courage to stand up to special interests, the natural leadership abilities
to unite us, and the character to tell the truth to the American people,”
Coleman added. “We are blessed to have many great candidates, but
Barack Obama’s message crosses racial, social and political lines, telling
the nation what we need to hear, even when it is not what people want to
hear. I am confident that Barack Obama is ready to lead, and as our
presidential nominee he will bring the debate back to what is best for
all the hard-working Americans who have been ignored for nearly eight years.”

“Leaders like Mayor Coleman paved the way for this campaign to be possible,”
said Obama. “Mayor Coleman is a trailblazer who has made Columbus
a model for cities across the country. Whether it’s by promoting
sustainability through his Get Green initiative or creating jobs and keeping
a balanced budget even as Ohio faced a tough economic climate, Mayor Coleman
has built coalitions and united Democrats and Republicans to get things
done. It won’t be enough to change parties in the next election,
we need to elect leaders who can enact change we can believe in.”

Since 1999, Mayor Mike Coleman has served as mayor of Columbus, the
nation’s 15th largest city, Ohio’s capital and largest city, and one of
the most economically successful and stable in the Midwest. Now in
the last year of his second term, Coleman is running an aggressive campaign
to not only win a third term, but to prepare the city for its Bicentennial
in 2012 with significant urban redevelopment, new affordable housing construction,
jobs moving downtown and other initiatives.

In 2006, Columbus was named an All America City, and Coleman has earned
praise for initiatives such as Get Green Columbus, which is reducing the
environmental footprint of the City and region, even as thousands of new
residents continue moving into the area. Coleman was the first Democrat
to hold the mayor’s office since 1971 and is Columbus’ first African American
mayor.